Police warn seniors to be savvy

Sarnia Police say criminals are once again targeting local seniors attempting to mislead and take their money.

On Oct. 16, police said, a local 86-year-old woman apparently received a phone call, from a from a man indicating he was the bank manager at her bank. Her call display didn’t register the phone number and that was the first red flag.

The male caller told the senior he was attempting to catch a “bad bank employee” who he believed was taking money from customer’s accounts. The bank manager wanted the woman to go to the bank, withdraw $4900 from her account and meet him at a different location with the cash.

The man apparently continued his questioning and asked the woman about the colour of her vehicle. Police said the woman became more suspicious and she hung up the phone.

The next day she confided in a neighbor about the phone call and the neighbor encouraged her to call police and report the incident.

Police believe this is a great example of an attempted fraud involving one of society’s most vulnerable – senior citizens.

SarniaPolice.com has some useful tips for the community and references to websites people can go to for more information or they encourage people to check out SPS_FraudWatch on Twitter.